Twice before during our conversation, Prime Minister Menachem Begin had asked me, “Why did you come?” Both times I had simply repeated the question rather than answering it—because I didn’t know what the answer was, and I didn’t really want to admit that to the leader of the Jewish nation! But the third time he asked, he added this: “And don’t say ‘Why did I come’ again!” So I looked him right in the eye, and I said, “I don’t know!”
It was more than 30 years ago, and I was in Jerusalem in obedience to what God had told me to do— even though what He had told me to do made no sense at all. God’s direction to me was crystal clear: I was to go to Israel and meet with Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Of course, at the time I didn’t know anybody in Israel at all, let alone anyone in the government. There was no reason to think that the leader of the Jewish state would meet with an unknown American preacher.
People thought I was crazy for making the trip, but in obedience to God’s call on my life, I made a reservation for a plane ticket and for the first time in my life visited the ancient homeland of the Jewish people. Through a series of meetings that the world would call coincidence—but you and I know to be Divine direction—I found my way to the Prime Minister’s office.
When I finally admitted to him that God hadn’t told me why I was supposed to be there, he burst into laughter. Mr. Begin turned to his secretary and said, “Shake his hand. You’ve finally met an honest man.” After we talked a little more, he asked if I would come back and meet with him again once God had made His plan clear, and I told him that I would.
When I left Prime Minister Begin’s office that day, I had no idea that I would be back two days later, having received a life-changing call from God. The birth of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center took place in the Holy City more than 30 years ago. Of course, at the time I didn’t know what it would be called, but I knew that God wanted me to start something that would bring together Christians from around the globe to stand in the gap for the Jewish people.
On my second visit with the prime minister, I told him that God wanted me to build a bridge. “Like the Brooklyn Bridge?” he asked with a grin. “A bridge of love and understanding between Christians and Jews,” I replied. “Then let’s build it together,” Mr. Begin responded. For the rest of his life, he was a great friend and supporter of the Jerusalem Prayer Team and of me personally.
Long before there was a reality, there was a vision...and a Divine plan. The Lord knew exactly where we needed to be today and because we acted in faith before we could see, today something amazing has happened. This week thousands of Jewish people will pour through the first Christian museum in Israel to see and hear the stories of true Christian love. In fact, we’ve had so many people wanting to come that we had to extend the operating hours of the museum! The Friends of Zion Museum is an unprecedented witness in the Holy City, and it is there because we believed that what God said would happen and acted according.
More than 30 years ago, I had no idea what was coming...but God did. Nothing that has happened since then has taken Him by surprise. He knew that at the end of 2015, Israel would be facing the threat of a nuclear program in Iran, terrorist uprising against the Jewish people, world condemnation and economic warfare, and political isolation. God knew that the Temple Mount would become a flashpoint of violence against His Chosen People.
God already had planned—long before we understood His purpose— for us to be on the front lines of this spiritual battle. Make no mistake, the fight for Israel’s future is the most important spiritual conflict of our age, and the only hope for victory is for those of us who know the truth to use the spiritual weapons at our disposal and fight.
God knew that there needed to be a global organization committed to rallying Believers to join the fight for Israel’s future. He knew that the Temple Mount would be a flashpoint of conflict, and there would need to be a global headquarters for spiritual warfare located just 600 meters away. He knew that Israel would urgently need friends—and that you and I would hear and answer the call.
My beloved partner, please understand this vital truth. The Friends of Zion Heritage Center is not the result of human initiative and effort. There are no coincidences or accidents in God’s order of doing things. There is no doubt in my mind that the Friends of Zion Heritage Center is the plan of God for this prophetic crisis moment, and He has truly called us together “for such a time as this.”
Right now there is an urgent need for spirit warfare. Israel is facing battles that she cannot win. The Israeli military is famous for winning battles against overwhelming odds. They are second to none against conventional military threats, but that is not the struggle facing Israel now. All the tanks and planes and guns and superbly trained soldiers avail nothing in spirit war.
We are fighting against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places, and the only weapons that can win this battle are spiritual weapons. Make no mistake: no battle can ever be won in the natural until it is first fought and won in the spirit realm. The Friends of Zion Heritage Center is utterly vital to the future survival of the Jewish state.
The Friends of Zion Heritage Center is Israel’s best hope for victory in spirit war. Through the Friends of Zion Heritage Center, we will have the ability to communicate with millions of Bible believers in real time. There are more than a billion professing Christians around the world, but there is currently no way for them to quickly be united to respond to a spiritual threat. Together, we are going to change that.
If the past few years have taught us anything, it should be the importance of God’s people praying and standing in the gap. The tragedy is that we have ignored the wake-up calls, and too many Believers have failed to answer the challenge to join the conflict. Together we are going to change that.
But there is more to this Divine plan. The Friends of Zion Heritage Center will also mobilize Believers by the millions worldwide to pick up smooth stones as did David and unite to help Israel win the public opinion war—also being lost. They will be ambassadors and defenders of Israel in their own homelands. They will confront evil with light. This “war room” will be ground zero for spiritual warfare in defense of Israel.
I have been an ambassador to the nation of Israel for more than 40 years. I have defended her in the midst of wars while missiles flew over my head. I stood up for Israel at the 43rd UN General Assembly in Geneva, at the Madrid Peace Conference at the Royal Palace in Spain. I confronted demon- possessed men such as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran face-to- face. But the job we face today is far too great for any one individual. We must raise up a multitude who will join the fight.
The Friends of Zion Heritage Center is God’s prophetic plan for our age to raise up an army of Spirit-filled men and women. “Wake up my mighty men; wake up my mighty women,” saith your God. “Blow the trumpet in Zion. Sound the alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble for the day of the Lord cometh and is nigh at hand” (Joel 2:1).
From the Friends of Zion Heritage Center, we will help Israel win the media war that is now being lost. The real-time communication center will be able to deliver the truth to major Christian media outlets worldwide— television, radio, print, and educational institutes—that will set men free. “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). This is one of the most important battles that Israel is losing today. The orchestrated social media and disinformation campaign to stir up hatred of the Jewish people is being very effective, and we must take a stand against it.
As it now stands, we have completed phase one of the project—the Friends of Zion Museum—and we have completed phase two—the Reception Center, with a beautiful cafe and gift shop. Now we are hard at work on phase three— the Friends of Zion Heritage Center. The crucial step that we must take immediately is the purchase of the buildings that will form the campus for this wonderful outreach. This is the foundation that must be laid in order for the rest of the dream to become reality.
We are just days away from the deadline for a $2.2 million payment. This is about so much more than buildings. This is a Divine vision for the future. It is a crucial defense of God’s Chosen People, and it is urgently needed. Today your gift will help us make the payment and continue to bring this wonderful dream to reality. In the natural this is impossible... but if each member of the Jerusalem Prayer Team will prayerfully respond, the need WILL be met.
A Promise of Renewal
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Dr. Evans meeting with President Ronald Reagan.[/caption]When President Ronald Reagan took the oath of office in January 1981, he used his mother’s Bible, and it was open to Second Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” This is a wonderful promise of renewal for any nation that is willing to turn to God.
Of course, while President Reagan was being inaugurated, the Iranians released the U.S. hostages they had been holding for more than a year. Just a few minutes after the ceremony concluded, my phone rang. It was my dear friend Rueven Hecht, the senior advisor to Prime Minister Menachem Begin. He was almost yelling as he said, “Harel is a prophet! Harel is a prophet!”
He was referring back to a conversation the three of us had in September of the year before. At that meeting, Isser Harel, the legendary head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, had told us that Reagan would win the election (it was still considered too close to call at the time) and that the Iranians would immediately release the hostages. It happened just as he had predicted. That was a wonderful time of rejoicing for our nation as we welcomed home Americans who had been held by Iran since the capture of the U.S. Embassy during the revolution in 1979.
Today we need a new healing for our land. This healing will not come through politics or economics or education. It will only come from heaven, and it will only come if we do what God says—turn from our sins, humble ourselves, and cry out seeking His face and His blessing. The work of the Jerusalem Prayer Team is not just a blessing for Israel... it is vital to the future of our own nation as well.
“Have you read The Protocols?”
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Dr. Evans confronts Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York City.[/caption]A few years ago, God directed me to go to New York City to confront Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was in the United States to speak at the United Nations General Assembly and to spread his hatred and lies against the Jewish people. It is a shame and a disgrace that the world body welcomes such hate-filled leaders and listens to them with respect, but it is also a stern reminder of the sad condition of our world today.
In the natural, it was impossible for me to get anywhere near the Iranian leader. He was under some of the tightest security ever put in place for a visiting leader; yet, God opened the doors. I walked up to the Warwick Hotel where the Iranian delegation was staying and was stopped outside by Secret Service officers. They told me I was not allowed in, but I told them I had a room in the hotel.
Finally, they allowed me inside and accompanied me to the desk. The desk clerk told me they had no room for me, and I asked to speak to the manager. I told the manager I needed a room there, and without any objection or hesitation, he took my credit card and handed me a room key. For the next four days, I was constantly in the presence of Iranian diplomats, spies, and military officials. Throughout that time, I was very aware of the spiritual warfare swirling around me.
As a six foot six inch tall Christian Zionist with dozens of books published defending Israel, hundreds of interviews on radio, television, and in print, and a massive online presence, I am not exactly inconspicuous. Over and over I heard them say, “We know who you are!” I prayed constantly through those days, aware that a battle was raging in the unseen realm.
Yet, despite the very real sense that demons were present, I had a spirit of peace. Thousands of Jerusalem Prayer Team partners stood with me in prayer during those days. Over and over I felt the presence of God’s Spirit guiding my thoughts and my words. Without question, I knew that God had called me there to personally confront Ahmadinejad and to reveal his radical hatred of Israel to the world.
Though it was impossible for it to happen, I was able to arrange the exclusive Fox News interview with President Ahmadinejad. I gave the interviewer questions that were specifically designed to draw Ahmadinejad out, and he walked right into the trap. By the time that interview was done, no one watching had any question about his fervent zeal to see Israel destroyed.
As we talked, I asked him why he felt the way he did about the Jewish people. Immediately he responded, “Have you read The Protocols?” referring to the forged anti-Semitic work put out in Tsarist Russia over 100 years ago. Ahmadinejad then launched into a tirade about the awful things that Jews do to Iran. He blamed poor crop harvests, shorter lifespans, and Iran’s struggling economy on nefarious plots carried out by Jewish intelligence services and undercover operatives.
Unfortunately, he is far from alone. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion remains a perennial bestseller across the Muslim world. Millions believe the lies that Jews control the world economy, are responsible for wars, and do everything they can to destroy the lives of Muslims, and they act on these beliefs. The Friends of Zion Heritage Center is urgently needed to counter the lies with the truth. Together, we can reach people with a different message than the one they have been hearing...and that will make a major difference.
